Volunteering
in Albania

We are looking for a volunteer in Albania for 12 months

Place: Tirana, Albania

Organisation: ADRA Albania

Posting time: 12 months; with deployment beginning in autumn 2023 (the deployment will be preceded by pre-deployment training)

Cost: All costs incurred by the volunteer before and during the assignment are covered by the SAMRS grant, including costs related to transport, visas, pre-departure medical check-up, insurance, accommodation and meals. More information here.

Deadline for sending applications: 15.7.2023

Volunteer activities

The focus of the volunteering activity is on social and economic inclusion of vulnerable groups in Albania, which the host organisation ADRA Albania has been working on for several years. These are mainly socially excluded Roma and so-called Egyptian communities, returnees and refugees.

1) At project management level, the volunteer will be involved in the following activities:

Assistance in writing project applications
Preparation of project documentation according to the requirements of specific projects, assisting in writing reports, collecting project records, data processing and analysis
Accompanying the project team in formal and informal meetings with donors and partners, ensuring minutes and supporting communication
Preparation of PR materials and their management on social networks
Capacity building of the organisation in the field of organisational development
Strengthening internal team capacities Searching for transformation experiences and best practices from Slovakia and the EU in common topics (Roma inclusion, migrants)

2) At the fieldwork level, the volunteer will be involved in the following activities:

Participation in monitoring visits in local communities
Assisting in the organisation of events, training and awareness campaigns
Interaction with the local community aimed at strengthening links

Requirements for a volunteer

The programme for sending volunteers to low-income countries is open to all citizens of the Slovak Republic aged 18 and over. The aim of the programme is to involve both young people and older age group in development cooperation and thus to expand the circle of people with professional interest in development cooperation.

Profile of the suitable candidate:

university degree min. I degree in a relevant field (social work, project management, law, international relations, development studies, public administration and public policy, etc.)
knowledge in project administration and writing
experience of working in the non-profit sector, foreign experience an advantage
English language - advanced
good knowledge of MS Office programs and digital skills
positive attitude to administrative tasks
interest in PR and communication; practical experience is an advantage (copywriting/ copywriting skills, social media publishing, ad creation)
good communication skills
flexibility and ability to adapt to local conditions
a sense of teamwork, but also independence and a proactive approach to work
interest in the topics of development cooperation and humanitarian aid, social exclusion, inclusion of vulnerable groups

ADRA aLBANIA - Host organisation

ADRA Albania is a humanitarian organisation that operates within the ADRA global network.

The segments that ADRA Albania is working on and within which the volunteer will work are:

Social inclusion Roma and Egyptian communities mainly consists of counselling and assistance in accessing the state social support system, in the form of training and workshops, where they learn soft skills that enable them to integrate into society. These include poverty alleviation interventions, prevention programmes, strengthening functional literacy and livelihood skills.
Economic inclusion, where it is in particular smediation of access to the labour market, career counselling, professional trainings aimed at promoting the economic inclusion of the adult population in excluded communities. ADRA Albania also focuses on supporting children's education, outreach activities to prevent school dropout of adolescents.
Education: ADRA Albania is currently mobilising communities through education, training and health education and engaging youth and volunteers in educational awareness campaigns.
Development and Humanitarian Assistance: Over the last 3 years, ADRA has provided material and psychosocial support to vulnerable groups affected by the earthquake and also during the Covid-19 pandemic.
Renovation of buildings: After 2000, ADRA Albania implemented projects for the reconstruction of schools, kindergartens, health centres in rural areas across Albania.

ADRA Albania is implementing several projects in these areas. The volunteer will not specialize exclusively in one area, but will be actively involved in different areas of project management as well as in community outreach work.

Experience of our volunteers

If you would like to learn more about volunteering with ADRA Albania, please read the following articles written by our volunteers:

What volunteering in Albania looks like, from the pen of our volunteer and now colleague Veronika, who spent 2 years in ADRA Albania.
Volunteering in Albania during the Covid-19 pandemic
About the work of our volunteer Laura and on Roma and Egyptian communities.

ADRA Slovakia - sending organisation

We have a long tradition in the field of sending volunteers, as evidenced by the dozens of volunteers we have sent to various countries around the world, the regular approval of our projects, which we apply for support to send volunteers to partner organizations, as well as the award of Volunteer of the Year by volunteers sent by us. We are characterized by high quality pre-deployment training, well-functioning volunteer cycles, alignment with sectoral and territorial priorities of Official Development Assistance.

Under the SAMRS programme we send volunteers since 2012, and since 2017 we have been part of the European expert volunteering EUAV.

Application form

The application form should be sent by email to volunteering@adra.sk to 15.7.2023. The application form includes:

1) Professional CV in English

2) Cover letter in English

3) Consent to the processing of personal data granted in accordance with Article 6(1)(a) and Article 7 of Regulation (EU) No 2016/679 of the European Parliament and of the Council on the protection of natural persons with regard to the processing of personal data and on the free movement of such data in accordance with Act No 18/2018 Coll. on the Protection of Personal Data and on Amendments and Additions to Certain Acts in the Slovak language.

Selected candidates will be invited for an interview, which will be conducted in Slovak and English. The interviews will take place in July 2023 and a contract will be concluded with the successful candidate. Before the actual deployment, the volunteer will undergo a medical examination to confirm his/her medical fitness to travel.